


The Proposal

by quiet_one



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Fluff, Love, Other, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-27
Updated: 2012-07-27
Packaged: 2017-11-10 20:26:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/470344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quiet_one/pseuds/quiet_one
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my Frill Friday/Shrios Saturday contribution! I think I managed fluff this time.</p>
    </blockquote>





	The Proposal

**Author's Note:**

> This is my Frill Friday/Shrios Saturday contribution! I think I managed fluff this time.

She lay there pinned against him, knowing it was past time to get up but finding herself unable to move. They had so little time left to them that nothing else seemed as important as this time here now.

Cora pressed herself tighter into Thane, hoping to imprint her skin with his so that she would always know he’d been there, even if her fragile human memory failed her.  
“Siha, shouldn’t you be dressed by now?”

Thane lifted an eyebrow at her, tracing one hand across her waist then up to her shoulder and down the length of her arm, clasping her hand in his own. He would be content to stay there but he knew from experience that EDI would be messaging them before long and if that failed there would be someone at the door.

“No, no, I’m not going” She tucked her face under his chin and thought back to a conversation they had started last night and left unfinished.

“You were going to tell me about drell weddings or bondings or whatever it was you called them”

She felt Thane’s laugh in her chest and squirrelled in tighter so that his voice would ebb through her skin. 

“The Bonding Ritual? It is complicated if you still ascribe to the old ways, most choose the enkindler ceremony now. It is somewhat shorter and less formal.”

“Which one did you and Irikah have?”

“Something between the two. She did not share my beliefs and I had precious few family left to invite”

“So what does the Bonding Ritual involve?”

“Tell me about human weddings first – I believe there is a large quantity of alcohol involved”

Cora gave a snort and drew back to look at him in case he was joking. Apparently not. “It depends on the wedding, I mean, I’ve only been to two. The first one involved a large quantity of alcohol. It was for the daughter of one of Dom’s merchant friends and they had the whole works – the big white dress, the church, the party afterwards”

“How big was the white dress?” 

“Oh, to the floor then dragging, oh I’d say about six feet behind her”

“That is large. And the second wedding?”

“Ah” Cora smiled at the memory of that one, it had been a much smaller affair and something along the lines of what she expected to have when she was growing up.  
“They got married in the park with a few of us to watch the blessing. Afterwards we went back to their house and ate lots of food and told stories about how they met and what they planned to do next. There wasn’t much alcohol involved. At the first wedding I remember the couple, they hardly touched each other. But at this one they never let go of each others hands and they looked so happy. Even though it rained it was like the sun shone down on them just for that day. They glowed”

There was silence for a moment then Thane let go of Cora’s hand and sat up a little, his dark eyes flickering as he spoke.

“The traditional Bonding Ritual dictates that you are brought to each other blindfolded and your hands are bound together by your family and any other guests. After this the presiding figure will start the vows and then you will finish them together. You must pledge gifts to those Gods whom you wish to favour your marriage” He hadn’t done this with Irikah, he had simply pledged himself and had believed it was enough. 

“Would you marry me Siha?”

She turned and stared at him, thoughts racing through her head. “I’d marry you today. But there’s one problem”

Thane felt a keen sense of disappointment at the levity in her words, he had hoped she would take the marriage offer a little more seriously. “And what is that?”

“I’m the only one able to marry us, as commanding officer” She thought for a moment then sat up, taking her hands in his and leaning close to him. “I hereby pronounce us man and wife. You may now kiss the bride”

Thane scowled, the slightest of pouts on his lips as he gazed up at her. Another drell would never have taken the offer so lightly and the differences between their species still surprised him, especially with regards to their customs. 

His expression surprised Cora and with a sinking heart she realised she’d been a fool. She placed both hands on either side of his face and tilted his head upwards, staring into the inky depths of his eyes that she loved to lose herself in.

“I…I thought you were joking” she said weakly, almost crying now. “Thane, I love you. I would marry you in a second. Please forgive me”

He kissed her, a long kiss that her skin on fire and drew her against him, tangling her limbs in his as they moved together against the bedsheets. Then they heard the knock at the door.

“Damn it” Cora gasped, digging her nails into Thane’s shoulder as he moved quicker inside her now, eager to bury himself inside her before she was taken away from him and he spent the rest of the day wishing for more. He knew from memory exactly what to do to make them tumble over the edge faster and he flipped Cora over, murmuring ‘Siha’ in her ear just as she clenched around him and he lost control, juddering to a breathless stop.

In a second Cora was off the bed and grabbing her clothes off the floor, hopping on one leg as she wrestled with her trousers. Thane remained serene and unhurried, watching her from the cosy nest of her blankets as she dressed for the day ahead, his marks on her skin still obvious.

The sight of him there, bright and beautiful against the white bed sheets made her heart stop with a longing that threatened to drag her back into his arms despite the insistent knocking on the door that had started a few moments ago.

“Aren’t we married now?” Thane asked quietly. “According to your human traditions a marriage must be consummated before it is valid, correct?”

Cora stopped, half way across the room. “I’ll be there in a second” she yelled, skipping back across the room and throwing herself on the bed where she leant over Thane and kissed him lightly. “Thane, when I marry you I want to do it properly. Whatever properly is. We can try and figure that bit out. And until then this will have to do”

“Of course Siha, though I doubt anyone would be brave enough to argue with you if you told them that you’d married us” Thane murmured, running his fingers through her hair.

The door to her room swept open and Tali wandered in, standing with her hands on her hips. “Garrus told me to come and fetch you, seeing as you were ignoring your door. Your security encryption is hardly difficult Shepard, you should probably choose a password other than assassin”

“Bye husband” Cora whispered in Thane’s ear, tearing herself away and leaving Thane to sleep. As she left the room she thought she heard him reply, the faintest of whispers carrying back to her.

“Goodbye Wife”


End file.
